Hezn
by OccasionallyActive
Summary: This is an idea that I got whilst watching Aladdin; what if the lamp wasn't really magical? What if Jasmine believed Aladdin was dead? I kind of just gave away the entire plot, but oh, well... Rated 'M' for character death...just to be safe.


**A/N**: This is the second in my series of "Disney movies going horribly wrong". The title of this one is the Arabic word for 'Sorrow'.

**_DISCLAIMER_**: I own nothing that you recognize; that all belongs to Disney.

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His wrists were probably red-raw, by now; and his arms were getting extremely sore. How long had he been in here, already? Hours? Days? Weeks? He couldn't even remember. The only hint of what time it was that he got was from the tiny little (very barred) window that was several stories above him. He could (just barely) get a glimpse of the tiniest sliver of sunlight peeking in at him; God, this was a miserable existence.

But…it was worth it; he'd met the love of his life! Granted…he couldn't (ever) marry her, but at least he knew she existed! She was…the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on. Skin like caramel; eyes like dark sand; hair as black as night and twice as smooth. It had been love at first sight; especially when he'd realized how incredibly lost she was in the market.

Now, though…? Well, he certainly still loved her; the fact that being in her company had basically gotten him arrested wouldn't change that. And it helped that she'd tried to stand up for him; of course…that hadn't change anything, but it had certainly been sweet of her. It showed she wasn't a heartless, stuck-up brat, and that was nice to know.

And then the sound of soft taps against the rafters; a glance up tells him that it's his ever-faithful monkey here to let down his arms by picking the lock. A small grin pulls onto his lips as the lock clicks, his restraints swing open, and Abu lands in his folded legs, making a noise that sounds a lot like 'Tada!'.

"Thanks…" he says softly, pulling down his wrists and rubbing at them gingerly to get the feeling back in his arms. Well, at least now he still felt like he had arms; that didn't get him closer to getting out, but that wasn't surprising. "Face it, though, Abu; I'm trapped."

"Things aren't always as they seem, boy."

A rough voice sounds off to his right and he turns to find a wizened old man limping towards him. He shifts a little awkwardly (had he always been here?) before he manages a weak smile. "I don't know; I mean…it looks pretty hopeless to me."

"I can take you to a Cave of Wonders, boy; filled with treasure the likes of which you've never seen before," the old man reaches into his torn frock-like clothing and pulls out a handful of sparkling rubies.

Aladdin shifts and his eyes widen as he looks at them; by Allah, he'd never seen so many jewels! "Wow!" he makes a grab for them but the old man was faster than he seemed and quickly stuffs them back into his pocket.

"Ah-ah-ah… First thing's first; you're going to go into this cave and retrieve a lamp for me, boy; and you can take whatever else you want; got it?"

"And…exactly how are we going to overcome the problem that the cave you're talking about is out there, and…we're locked in a prison?" a suspicious expression matches his disbelieving tone quite well.

The old man grin a wide, gap-toothed grin before hobbling over to the wall, pushing away a solid group of bricks with his cane, and turning back to Aladdin. "Things aren't always as they seem."

----

It took hardly anytime at all; and then they were there; standing in front of a talking lion's head that (for some strange reason) had its ear pierced. Still…in he walked (after pledging to touch nothing but this mystical lamp) and his long journey began. Through twisting turns; rooms piled with treasure; and, finally, a lake with a large pillar in the middle that looked at least ten-stories high.

"Remember, Abu," he says softly as the monkey jumps down from his shoulder "don't touch anything until I have that lamp, all right?" after a sound of jumbled agreement he begins to hop across the rocks in the lake, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. What was so special about this lamp? Why did that gross old man want it so badly? With any luck, he'd know soon enough.

So, up the stairs he went; and it was an extremely long process; the stairs seemed to be endless. But, finally, with sweat staining his brow and dripping down the sides of his face (by Allah it had been such a long climb!) he was there. Slowly he reaches out, grabs the lamp, picks it up; it hardly weighs anything and he's wondering why he was sent for it as he turns around and sees his faithful friend (who'd apparently been being held back by a magic carpet thus far) scramble forward and pick up a large, gleaming ruby in his grubby little hands.

At once, the voice of the lion-head roars through the caves. "INFIDELS! You have touched the forbidden treasure! Now you shall never again see the light of day!"

And then all Hell seems to break loose. The stairs he's standing on turn into a slide, and he's rushing down to what used to be water and is now boiling hot lava. Luckily enough, before he fries, the magic carpet zooms to his rescue. They then pick up Abu and they're rushing toward the exit, dodging columns of fire and falling rocks left and right. One of the falling rocks get too close; they get shot off the carpet; he tumbles down the crumbling stairs that lead to the exit; he's barely holding on. "Get me out of here!"

The old man hobbles close to the stairs. "Give me the lamp!"

"I can't hold on much longer; please!""First give me the lamp; and then…you shall have your reward!"

He pulls the lamp out of his pocket; stretches out his arm; is barely holding on with his shaking fingers. And then the old man grabs it; rejoices; and then grabs _him_. "Now you shall have your reward, street-rat…your eternal reward," and all he sees is the flashing of a knife before Abu bites the old man's too-skinny wrists and he goes tumbling back down into the abyss of the cave.

Almost too late the carpet struggles free from under the rock it had been hit by and catches him; Abu landing (gratefully) beside him before they drift to the floor. The exit closes off with one more falling boulder and he lets out a sigh of defeat. "Looks like he got away with that lamp…"

With a sneaky little grin on his monkey face, Abu pull the lamp out of nowhere, holding it out to his master and friend. He glows with pride as his master praises him. It was damn good to be so sneaky and fast!

"Let's see what all the hype is about, shall we?" he holds the lamp close to his face, not noticing the subtle sound of falling sand. "There seems to be some sort of writing on here, but I can't quite make it out…" he rubs the side with his hand and when nothing happens he sighs heavily and tosses the lamp aside. "It's just a useless piece of junk!"

Suddenly, Abu starts screaming, shaking his master by the vest and trying to grab his attention; the hole was filling in with sand! They needed to find a way out, and fast! But Aladdin doesn't seem to get what he's trying to convey, and just tells him to shut up; mind his own business.

However, Aladdin can't help but to notice…not even five minutes later…when the sand is already level with his chest. "Abu, I…I think we're done for," he says softly, the monkey sitting on his head, as he shudders a little. So this was how he was going to die, huh? Buried beneath sand after a useless escape from being held captive in a dark and rancid little dungeon? Well…it could certainly be a bit worse…couldn't it?

As the last few grains of sand fall into place, though, the black-haired boy can't be seen; it's as if he was never there at all. He would be forgotten in the sands of the deep desert; never to be heard of again.

----

The entire day had been fruitless! He'd lost that damned lamp! But…no; not all had been a failure; at least he'd taught that worthless little street-rat a lesson. He was gone, now; and he'd be able to tell that stupid little princess the boy was dead.

"Jafar!" said princess strides over to him with an air of intense importance. "Your guards picked up a boy from the market-place; what was his crime?"

"Why…kidnapping you, of course," he says in a silky voice.

She shudders at his words, shaking her head. "He didn't kidnap me, I ran away!"

"Oh, well…oh, dear; I mean…"

"What?" her tone was suddenly urgent; had something terrible happened to that beautiful boy?!

"Well, I'm afraid his sentence has already been carried out. Death…by beheading."

Her heart races; tears fill her eyes; and without another word she runs from the room. There was no hope, now. She would never love another soul again. That black-haired boy (whose name she'd never even known!) had been her soul mate; she'd been able to feel it in her very bones, but…now…? Now he was dead?

She was in her room, now; she could see that through the veil of tears in her eyes. Her room had a balcony, didn't it? That could be her release! If…if she couldn't be with him in life, then she could be reunited with him in the afterlife! Her footfalls were quick; she was too quick for her dear tiger-friend to know what was happening; and then she was up on the edge of the balcony, the wind blowing her dark hair back behind her.

She couldn't face a world in which she'd be eternally unhappy. So, with a deep breath and a quickened heartbeat, she was falling through the air, racing toward the ground. Her last thought before she impacts is on how this seemed so…peaceful, almost; her heart had stopped racing, even! And as she closes her eyes, everything simply…ceases to be. It was the end, and the mark of her sorrow would be forever painted in the grass beneath that balcony.

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**A/N2**: I'll make my second apology for ruined childhoods with this one. XD Go ahead and tell me how you really feel; I don't mind flames and the-like!


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